Coloring Algorithms on Subcubic Graphs

We present efficient algorithms for three coloring problems on subcubic graphs. (A subcubic graph has maximum degree at most three.) The first algorithm is for 4-edge coloring, or more generally, 4-list-edge coloring. Our algorithm runs in linear time, and appears to be simpler than previous ones. The second algorithm is the first randomized EREW PRAM algorithm for the same problem. It uses O(n/ log n) processors and runs in O(log n) time with high probability, where n is the number of vertices of the graph. The third algorithm is the first linear-time algorithm to 5-total-color subcubic graphs. The fourth algorithm generalizes this to get the first linear-time algorithm to 5-list-totalcolor subcubic graphs. Our sequential algorithms are based on a method of ordering the vertices and edges by traversing a spanning tree of a graph in a bottom-up fashion. Our parallel algorithm is based on a simple decomposition principle for subcubic graphs.